Office-indicator



(No Model.)

El DUNDON UPFIGE INDIGATOR.

N0. 575;597. Patented Jan. .19, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD DUNDON, OF FORT LEAVENVORTH, KANSAS.

OFFICE-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 575,597, dated January19, 1897.

Application filed .Tune l5, 1896. Serial No. 595,573. (No model.)

To all wha/lt it Vntf/U concern,.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD DUNDON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fort Leavenworth, in the county of Leavenworth and StateofKansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvement-s inDoor-Indicators; and I do hereby declare the following` to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to door-indicators.

My obj eet is to provide a more simple,cheap, and easily-operateddoor-indicator adapted for use on office, residence, and water-closetdoors, or on any door where it is desirable that an outsider be notifiedthat the apartmentis occupied, the party therein too busy to beinterviewed, or that entrance may be had.

Having this object in View, the invention consists of a doorindicator ofnovel construclion, as will appear more in detail hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of theindicator; Fig. 2, a cross-sectional view, and Fig. 3 a sectional planview. i

In the drawings the numeral l designates the door of the apartment.

I provide a rectangular metal door-plate 2, havin g a centrally-disposedelongated vertical guide-slot 3. Two ribbon-springs 4 and 5 have theirlower ends 6 and '7, respectively, fastened to the door-plate, whiletheir upper ends are free to slide in depressions therein when thesprings are compressed.

The numeral 8 designates an indicator-slide which is bent into alongitudinal depression 9, in which some suitable words may be etched orto which a printed strip may be pasted or otherwise connected. Of coursethese words would vary according to the use to which the indicator wasto be put. If used'in connection with awater-closet, the word Occupiedmight be employed, while if the indicator was for oflice use the wordsNot in or Out would be suitable. If used on the door of a residence, theWords Not at home or At home could be placed on the slide. The upperportion of theindicator-slide should be provided with some suitablewords, as Unoccupied when used on a water-closet door, or the name ofthe tenant, as, for instance,

vices 19 to the inner side of the door.

Mrs H. T. Smith, when used on the door of a residence. Connected to theback of the slide are two arms l0 and ll, which are provided withregistering bifurcations 12, that serve as bearings, as will appearpresent] y. These arms project through the vertical slit in thedoor-plate and are adapted for movement therein.

I employ an ornamental outer housing-plate 13, having a bent edge 14,which overlaps the edge of the door-plate and forms a housing for theindicator-slide and serves to keep the same in position. Thishousing-plate is provided with a central longitudinal sight-opening l5of slightly greater length than the words on the indicator-slide and inalinement therewith.

The parts heretofore described are connected to the door by screws orother fastening devices 16 at the four corners of the plates and slides.

The door is cut away to form a vertical opening 17 in alineinent withthe slit in the door-plate and to receive the projecting ends of thearms on the door-plate.

There is a second sm all door-plate l8,which is fastened by screws orother fastening de- This door-plate is provided with a T-shaped verticalslotl 20, and it also has two arms 2l and 22, which project into theslot in the door. There is an operating device bent into the shape of abell-crank lever 23. One arm of this lever is pivoted to the arms 2l and22 by a pin 24, and its outer end carries a transverse pin 25, whichlies in the bifurcations of the arms projecting from the outsidedoorplate.- The inner upwardly-bent arm of the operating-lever carries ahandle 26.

Ordinarily the indicator-slide is down, so that the word Unoccupiedshows through the sight-opening. When it is desired to operate theslide, however, the operating-lever is pulled down and theindicator-slide is thereupon forced up, bringing the lettering Occupied7thereon into view, and the slide remains held in this position by thesprings until the handle is pushed up again, whereupon the wordUnoceupied appears.

It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the preciseconstruction herein shown and described, but consider that I am entitledto all such variations as come within the spirit and scope of theinvention..

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new ism l. In adoor-indicator,tl1e combination with a door, of a movableindicator-slide carried thereby, and a lever which is pivoted connectedto thc slide and pivoted to the door, said lever extendin transverselythrough the latter and provided with a free handle.

2. ln a door-indicator,the combination with a door, of a movableindicator-slide carried thereby, and a bell-crank lever which has one ofits arms connected to the slide,and its other arm projecting`transversely through the door and provided with a free handle7 saidlever being pvoted to the door.

3. The herein-described door-indicator comprising,` the combination witha movable indicator-slide and a housingtherefor which is provided with asight'opening, of mechanism for moving the slide to any desired extent,and springs adapted to coact With the slide and retain it in positionafter any degree of adjustment has been effected.

4. In a doo1'indicato1,tl1e combination with a door-plate and ahousing-plate having: a sight-opening, of an indicator-slide movablebetween the housing-plate and door-plate, ribbon-springs bearing on theindicator-slide and serving to hold it in position after adjustment, andan operating-lever connected to the indicator-slide, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification inv the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD DUNDON.

XVitnesses:

RALPH DoNNoLLY, STANISLAW LozoWsKI.

